Minnesota Lawyer
Jeremiah Ellis
Jeremiah Ellis won the DFL-endorsement to fill an open St. Paul state House seat. Ellis defeated three challengers at Saturday’s endorsing convention to secure party backing. The St. Paul Public Schools’ employee hopes to replace Rep. Cy Thao, who is not seeking a fifth term at the Capitol.
Ellis garnered 43 percent of the vote on the first ballot. He was followed by Tony Schmitz (24 percent), Jessica Webster (16 percent) and Rena Moran (14 percent). By the third ballot, Ellis’ share had climbed to 56 percent — just shy of the 60 percent threshold needed for endorsement.
At that point a motion was made to adjourn the convention without an endorsement, but the proposal was voted down. Ellis then prevailed on the next ballot with 63 percent of the vote.
However, Ellis will not have an uncontested path to the DFL nomination. Moran told delegates that she intends to run in the primary.
Both Moran and Ellis are African American. That means the victor of the August primary will almost certainly become the first black legislator to represent St. Paul at the Capitol.
In the DFL gubernatorial contest, the big winner in Senate District 65 was “uncommitted.” Eight of the 17 delegates selected caucused without pledging support to any particular candidate. House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, and former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza each secured two pledged delegates. State Sens. Tom Bakk and John Marty, and state Rep. Tom Rukavina each came away with one pledged delegate.
